Wednesday, March 20, 2013

AFRITA HANEM - "The Genie Lady" - "Little Miss Devil" (1949)

WWW. Welcome to Weird Wednesday! Tonight's feature is straight out of Egypt, and it's called "Afrita Hanem!" If you've never heard of this film, you just might be a little surprised to find out it's a very good movie, especially if you're the kind of person who enjoys 'World Music!' Here's just a small sample of what you're in for!

"Afrita Hanem" is a musical comedy, and is also known as both "The Genie Lady," and/or "Little Miss Devil," and both of those names would be quite appropriate!

Sometimes I think the sub-title translations are a little screwy. I mean that sounds kind of dirty!

The way this one translates is not much better!

No, it's not Ricky and Lucy, it's Asfour and Aleya! They perform together and he's in love with her, but she doesn't really want to have anything to do with him because he's just a commoner!

Information gets confused even when they're speaking their own language as Asfour thinks Aleya has agreed to marry him, and Asfour and his buddies whoop it up because of the good news!

Asfour meets an old man who sends him to this cave where a magic lamp is hidden, and out pops the genie who thinks Asfour is her long lost love!

The genie is played by Samia Gamal, who is also a top notch belly dancer, and it turns out she's got quite a sense of humor! In fact, it doesn't take much to figure out why the movie was also called "Little Miss Devil" because she is very mischievous, and nobody can see her except Asfour!

I still haven't figured out how the expression "No Way, José" managed to make it's way to the Mideast! This is the second flick I've seen, the other one being from Turkey, where they used that terminology!

Don't you just get the feeling that Frankie and Annette are going to show up any minute?

The genie's name is Kahramana, and she gets Asfour enough cash to open a club of his own. Along with Asfour, the star of the new club is a gal called Semsema, and if it's not confusing enough already, Semsema is also played by Samia Gamal!

Kahramana is totally full of it, and is messing with people all the time! I would not be the least bit surprised to find out that the creators of the "I Dream Of Jeannie" TV show had seen and been inspired by this film!

Asfour and Semsema do one more number! I didn't count, but there might be six or eight songs in the movie, and they are all quite entertaining!

On a danger sign or in a piano, it just doesn't seem like people are having this much fun in Egypt these days!

Looks kind of like something right out of a "Three Stooges" episode, doesn't it?

This scene looks like it came right out of "Hellzapoppin!"

Yep, that pretty much sums it up! You would probably find it hard to believe, but "Afrita Hanem - The Genie Lady" is actually available from Netflix, so check it out if you want a different kind of good time before they're banned forever!

DWRAYGER DUNGEON PRESENTS: The Monster Movie Music Manifesto

Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Spy, Super-Hero, JD, Thriller and Noir films, that's what we like, and a recurring theme in a lot of those kinds of movies has always been music! There were rockin' clubs and cafes with cool jukeboxes, teen poolside parties with local bands, sometimes it was a seedy bar with a sleazy torch singer, a beatnik coffeehouse, maybe dancing somewhere in outer space, or some weird tribal ceremony on a cool secluded island with giant monsters running around, and you could count on it that a lot of the time there was smoking and drinking going on. It was a fun time!! A lot of movies also had quirky, swingin', jazzy or rockin' themes or credits, or maybe just some wild Psychotronic elements! We started with the music from 50's & 60's Monster Movies, but we later morphed into the new, bigger and better, Rock and Soul, 70's brevity, 80's maybes, 1940's Gorilla and Bela site from Hell! So, sit down, and take a load off, pour yourself a cool one, and order up something hot and greasy, because we have a lot of tasty tidbits on the menu, way outside the realm of good taste! If any of the postings just happen to step on anybody's toes, let us know & we will remove them immediately, if not sooner!! We recognize all formal copyrights, and do this solely to support and promote the films featured! This forum is only being presented in a critical and scholarly critique, and should not be construed as anything else. It's just all for Fun & Historical Education in an effort to keep bad taste alive forever!!! If the words and pictures pique your interest, then please go out & buy, or rent the movies, wherever you can find them! All soundclips are approximately two minutes long, or just enough to give you a feel for the movie! When we post a sound clip, it will only stay up 30 days or less! These days, after getting hassled time and time again, we don't even do soundclips much anymore!!

Here are some good places to start your search for hard to find cult films on the internet:

TRASH PALACE!

CULT ACTION!!

When it comes to movies, the name of this site speaks for itself!

1980's CASSETTE CULTURE

Hear What You Missed The First Go Round!

BSC MUSIC

If you would like to hear more amazing music from composers like Peter Thomas and Martin Böttcher, then do yourself a favor and check out BSC Music! There Are Still Places In The World To Buy Cool Music!